Trolling Question

[basstard2013]

I want to give trolling a try for Striper. How much weight is needed to get a Fluke down to 10ft, 20ft, and 30ft when trolling? How much line should I let out and how fast should I go? I'll be using a rental boat.

The rig that I have is a 6'6" Med-Heavy Bait casting rod and reel. Thinking I'll put a mono backing and 30lbd braid on it. I read that its good to use a mono shock leader between 2 - 4ft long. Does the lure tie directly to the mono shock leader?

If there is anything that doesn't sound right or that I'm missing I'd really appreciate any advice you may have. Thanks guys!

[JAG107]

Look into getting some leadcore line. A nice long leader of 10lb flouro would be good. Go to a good local tackle shop, they will spool you up with a nice setup. I like tying the leader to a scrounger head.

[Doghunter]

The easiest way to get 20 or 30 feet down would be a small downrigger. I use a Walker Mini Laker on my 14' aluminum boat and it works perfect for the local lakes. I just unclamp it from the side of the boat when I'm not using it. I also use leadcore setups but with leadcore to get down 20 or 30 feet you would have a lot of line out.

[GdHkSet1]

LC and DR are your primary set ups to get your lure/s down. On your rental boat, will you have electronics to key in what your trolling over?
If you do have a FF on the rental, another quick way to get down 30' or less w/o purchasing hardware would be using a 4, 5, or 6 oz torpedo weight w/ 2-3' flouro leader.

[GdHkSet1]

Here's some trolling weights mentioned prior post: Good luck hope you get in on some quality stripers waters are cooling.....

[Doghunter]

Gdhkset1
What pound line do you use with a 5 or 6 ounce weight? I'm assuming it would have to be a pretty stout setup.

[GdHkSet1]

Gdhkset1
What pound line do you use with a 5 or 6 ounce weight? I'm assuming it would have to be a pretty stout setup.

I used the 5oz on a 7ft MH Bass Rod w/ 15lb CXX P-LINE green before. I've also had the 6oz on my 8-6'M downrigger Rod w/20LB.
I actually took a couple of 3 and 4oz ones with me to June lk and had them rigged on a 7ft M rod for trolling cuz I forgot my LC setup
for the rental boats.

[Doghunter]

Gdhkset1,
Thanks for the information, I will have to give that a try sometime.

[P.A.W.]

I'll just complicate things a little more. The depth you are running will be decided by the weight you use, the resistance of the bait (mass and action), and the speed you are trolling. There are no hard and fast rules for calculating. Once you decide on the bait you want to run (fluke, fly, U-rig etc.) then you will need to experiment a bit. You may, and probably will lose some rigs to the bottom gods. Also when trolling for stripers remember they will be attacking from behind and will be concentrating on the movement of the bait. Sooooo the line size becomes not so big a deal. I say 20 lb is fine. I run 40 mono to my u-rig and 20 to the 3 stingers trailed behind a broomstick 7' rod. I let the mono line and properly set drag do my shock absorbing for me. If you want to be really proficient at trolling I also highly suggest a line counter reel. That way you can exactly duplicate your presentation every time. I can get down to 20 feet with extreme accuracy but anything more I break out the downrigger.